3,656 research outputs found
Exploring Trends in Middle School Students\u27 Computational Thinking in the Online Scratch Community: A Pilot Study
Teaching computational thinking has been a focus of recent efforts to broaden the reach of computer science (CS) education for todayâs students who live and work in a world that is heavily influenced by computing principles. Computational thinking (CT) essentially means thinking like a computer scientist by using principles and concepts learned in CS as part of our daily lives. Not only is CT essential for the development of computer applications, but it can also be used to support problem solving across all disciplines. Computational thinking involves solving problems by drawing from skills fundamental to CS such as decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, and algorithm design.
The present study examined how Dr. Scratch, a CT assessment tool, functions as an assessment for computational thinking. This study compared strengths and weaknesses of the CT skills of 360 seventh- and eighth-grade students who were engaged in a Scratch programming environment through the use of Dr. Scratch. The data were collected from a publicly available dataset available on the Scratch website. The Mann-Whitney U analysis revealed that there were specific similarities and differences between the seventh- and eighth-grade CT skills. The findings also highlight affordances and constraints of Dr. Scratch as a CT tool and address the challenges of analyzing Scratch projects from young Scratch learners. Recommendations are offered to researchers and educators about how they might use Scratch data to help improve studentsâ CT skills
Computer Science To Go (CS2Go): Developing a course to introduce and teach Computer Science and Computational Thinking to secondary school students
Computer Science To Go (CS2Go) is a course designed to teach Transition Year
Students about Computer Science and Computational Thinking. This project
has been conducted over two years and this thesis charts the development of
the course from the initial research stage, through the lesson creation sections
to the testing and evaluation of the course material. Over 80 hours of engaging,
informative and challenging material has been developed for use in the
classroom.
Alongside the lesson plans, assessment and monitoring tools have been created,
including a novel tool to assess students Computational Thinking skills.
The content was tested in two major studies after an initial pilot study. This
initial pilot study proved useful in constructing the full CS2Go course. Overall
the course has been well received with teachers and students engaging well
with the content. A web portal has also been created to allow for easy dissemination
of all the CS2Go material. The further development of this web portal
will turn CS2Go into a one-stop shop for teachers and educators hoping to find
CS teaching material
How to design activities for learning computational thinking in the context of early primary school in an after-school code club
Abstract. Computational Thinking (CT) and its related concepts have gained a lot of traction within the field of education. Many countries, including Finland and the United Kingdom, are in the process of integrating CT into their national curriculums to equip pupils with much needed 21st century digital skills, including coding (programming). As a result, several programs and activities are being developed to introduce pupils to CT. The need to develop appropriate teaching and learning materials, as well as train teachers to teach, and integrate computational thinking into their lessons is apparent. This thesis seeks to contribute to the body of knowledge on computational thinking by designing and testing instructional materials for early primary school. Computational thinking as a concept, how to integrate its concepts into coding, as well as how pupils understood the concept were explored.
This study was conducted in an after-school coding club at an elementary school in the northern part of Finland. The duration for the coding club was 8 weeks. Each lesson lasted for 45 minutes. Participants were selected from among 1st and 2nd grade pupils. In selecting participants for this study, priority was given to pupils with no prior coding experience. 13 out of the selected 17 had no prior experience. The remaining 4 participants were randomly selected from the rest of the applicants who had coding experience.
Worksheets and stickers were designed and tested for teaching and learning computational thinking. Lesson plans designed for the coding club included activities for teaching computational thinking using unplugged activities and Scratchjr. The unplugged activities were integrated into coding lessons to enhance the understanding of pupils during the coding lessons. This approach helped to connect theoretical computational thinking to real life practices and its application in the context of coding.
Data collected included the unplugged activity worksheets of the participants, their Scratchjr projects, and self-efficacy beliefs regarding their ability to code and think computationally. These work products were evaluated qualitatively for evidence of understanding. The analysis of the self-efficacy beliefs of participants revealed that participants were confident of their computational thinking and coding abilities.
The main outcome of this research is the instructional material (stickers, templates, and Scratchjr activities) which was designed for teaching and learning purposes. This unique experiment and pedagogical designs are explained to show how unplugged activities can be used to introduce pupils to computational thinking concepts
Evaluating an Integrated Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math/Computational Thinking Professional Development Program for Elementary Level Paraprofessional Educators
For my dissertation, I looked at a training program one Utah school district used to teach paraprofessional educators science, technology, engineering, math, and computational thinking. Specifically, the program taught them about what computational thinking is and how they could use it when teaching science, technology, engineering, and math to students from kindergarten to sixth grade. While reviewing this program, I evaluated 1) The experiences the paraprofessionals had with the program, 2) Whether the paraprofessionals understood computational thinking, and 3) Whether the program prepared them to teach computational thinking to K-6 students.
I worked with eight paraprofessionals who participated in this program. Each participant was given a survey before and after the training program, and I interviewed each of them to gather their thoughts, feelings, and experiences at the end of the program.
This evaluation showed that the program provided a positive experience for participants and opportunities for them to understand computational thinking and how they can teach elementary school children those concepts. My evaluation also highlighted several ways the school district can support paraprofessionals to make them more effective when teaching computational thinking
Online Scratch Activities during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Computational and Creative Thinking
This paper investigated the effect of online Scratch activities on college studentsâ computational and creative thinking. The study adopted a mixed research design including one group pretest-posttest. The sample consisted of 24 child development undergraduates (23 female and 1 male) in the 2019-2020 academic year. The research was carried out in "Teaching Science and Mathematics in Preschool Educationâ course and lasted 12 weeks. The participants developed Scratch projects based on eight learning outcomes (four math and four science). Data were collected using the Computational Thinking Scale, the Marmara Creative Thinking Dispositions Scale, and reflective journals. The quantitative data were analyzed using a paired sample t-test. The qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. The results showed that Scratch activities helped students develop computational and creative thinking
Educational Robotics and Computational Thinking in Elementary School Students
This study examined the role of educational robotics in fostering computational thinking in elementary settings, both in classrooms and extracurricular programs. Among growing concerns over Kâ12 studentsâ computational thinking deficits, the research evaluated the impact of Lego EV3 and VEX IQ platforms. Data was sourced from lesson plans, student work surveys, and teacher interviews and then subjected to thematic analysis using a qualitative approach. The participants were Texas educators engaged in robotics instruction, even though specific robotics statistics are absent in the Texas Education Agency. Instructional strategies varied from hands-on experiences to translating mathematical concepts into robotic actions. A key finding was roboticsâ role in advancing computational and critical thinking skills. Teachers believed that robotics went beyond a mere science, technology, engineering, and mathematics introduction, promoting advanced computational thinking and linking creativity to real-world application. Robotics challenges were seen to enhance studentsâ computational and critical thinking capabilities. The study drew from constructionism theory, which promotes learning through action and knowledge creation. In conclusion, educational robotics, reinforced by constructionism, is essential for equipping students for a technologically advanced future. Early exposure to robotics equips elementary students with vital 21st-century skills, enhancing their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics preparedness
Computational Thinking in Education: Where does it fit? A systematic literary review
Computational Thinking (CT) has been described as an essential skill which everyone should learn and can therefore include in their skill set. Seymour Papert is credited as concretising Computational Thinking in 1980 but since Wing popularised the term in 2006 and brought it to the international community's attention, more and more research has been conducted on CT in education. The aim of this systematic literary review is to give educators and education researchers an overview of what work has been carried out in the domain, as well as potential gaps and opportunities that still exist. Overall it was found in this review that, although there is a lot of work currently being done around the world in many different educational contexts, the work relating to CT is still in its infancy. Along with the need to create an agreed-upon definition of CT lots of countries are still in the process of, or have not yet started, introducing CT into curriculums in all levels of education. It was also found that Computer Science/Computing, which could be the most obvious place to teach CT, has yet to become a mainstream subject in some countries, although this is improving. Of encouragement to educators is the wealth of tools and resources being developed to help teach CT as well as more and more work relating to curriculum development. For those teachers looking to incorporate CT into their schools or classes then there are bountiful options which include programming, hands-on exercises and more. The need for more detailed lesson plans and curriculum structure however, is something that could be of benefit to teachers
Exploring and comparing computational thinking skills in students who take GCSE Computer Science and those who do not
This study compares computational thinking skills evidenced by two groups of students in two different secondary schools: one group per school was studying a qualification in Computer Science. The aim was to establish which elements of computational thinking were more prevalent in students studying Computer Science to a higher level. This in turn would evidence those elements likely to be present from their earlier computing education or through their complementary studies in Science or Mathematics, which all students also studied. Understanding this difference was important to identify any increased competence in computational thinking that was present in the Computer Science groups. Interviews involved a set of questions and a maze activity designed to elicit the sixteen studentsâ computational thinking skills based on the Brennan and Resnick (2012) model of computational concepts, practices and perspectives. Analysis of studentsâ responses showed surprisingly little difference between the computational thinking practices of the two groups in relation to abstraction, decomposition, evaluation, generalisation/reusing, logical reasoning and debugging/testing. The study concludes that general computational thinking skills can be developed either at a lower level of study or in cognate curriculum areas, leaving computer science as the rightful locus of computational thinking for automation
Developing Childrenâs Computational Thinking using Programming Games
Computation is a fundamental part of our world, with todayâs children growing up surrounded
by technology. This has led governments and policymakers to introduce
computer science into primary and secondary education (age 5 to 16). These developments
have been driven by âcomputational thinkingâ: the idea that the problemsolving
skills used in computer science are useful in other disciplines. They have
resulted in a wide range of programming tools designed for novices, of which Scratch,
a block-based visual programming environment, is the most popular. Yet, so far, both
computer science education and claims of computational thinking as a universal skill
have failed to live up to their potential.
This thesis begins by reviewing the literature on computer science in primary education
and computational thinking. It then describes a study that aimed to reproduce
findings that programming improves story sequencing, a non-computational skill, in
young children (age 5 and 6) using a programming game. The results showed an overall
improvement for both the intervention and control group. In addition, it highlighted
issues with teaching programming to young children. The thesis then refocuses on
teaching older children (age 9 to 11) the computer science skill of abstraction and the
idea that it can be used to refactor code to remove âcode smellsâ (bad programming
practices). Code smells indicate an underlying problem in a program, such as code
duplication, and are common in Scratch projects. A study is then reported that establishes
that primary school children can recognise the benefits of abstraction when
asked to alter Scratch projects that contain it.
The thesis then describes the design and development of Pirate Plunder, a novel
educational block-based programming game designed to teach children to use abstraction
in Scratch, using custom blocks (parameterised procedures) and cloning
(instances of sprites). Two studies are reported in the subsequent chapters. The first
investigates the value of a debugging-first approach in Pirate Plunder, finding that it
was not always beneficial. The second measures for improvements in using abstraction
in Scratch, finding that children who played the game were then able to use custom
blocks to reduce duplication code smells in a Scratch project. In addition, Pirate
Plunder players improved on a computational thinking assessment compared to the
non-programming control group. The final chapter discusses the original contributions
of the thesis, the implications of these and future direction
Attitudes of Pre-service Teachers Toward Computational Thinking in Education
The purpose of the study was to examine the attitudes of pre-service teachers toward computational thinking, before and after an intervention, to convey the importance of integrating computational thinking into K-12 curricula. The two-week, course-embedded intervention introduced pre-service teachers, with varying academic specialties, to computational thinking practices and their utility. The intervention employed the Scratch programming language tool including Scratch flashcards, everyday and interdisciplinary examples of computational thinking, and unplugged activities. The findings indicated that the intervention was an effective new way to convey the value of computational thinking to all sampled pre-service teachers, no matter their academic specialties or GPAs. Further research is recommended to investigate potential increases in pre-service teachersâ own computational thinking skills following from the intervention
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